This Savage Art » Television

Be Bold

William Speruzzi — Mon, 16 May 2011 18:09:56 +0000

After yesterday’s screenings of Badlands and The New World at the Museum of the Moving Image I got into a frenzied conversation about film that usually follows these things. An acquaintance asked me why did I think the films of 70′s Hollywood were more adventurous and my response was “Because everyone was coked up.” As flippant as that response was there is some truth at its core. What I was trying to say was everyone was looser with their ambitions, creative and otherwise. Wild ideas were explored, fostered and yes, they did make a profit, until they didn’t. With the unveiling of Terrence Malick’s new film The Tree of Life at Cannes today there is (if there isn’t a rumor, I’m starting one now) an undercurrent of hope that this film might, just might begin a trend of filmmaking in this country that’s not about reboots or comic book adaptations. It might just be the cinephile’s version of the blockbuster. Hyperbole aside, Malick is an adventurous filmmaker, maybe one of the purest and boldest working filmmakers in America now so let’s use him as inspiration.

Be bold. Some of the best advice I’ve gotten from a fellow screenwriter.

As I enter the Television Writing Intensive next Monday and stay immersed for six weeks I’ll keep these words in mind. I’ll be concentrating on a one-hour drama pilot that by the end of the course will be a fully realized outline. Does it matter that I don’t know what I’m going to do with a one-hour pilot when I’m done with it? No. This one’s about the getting there. The journey. A boost to the system.

So yes, be bold. Write those scenes. Bring something new to the table. Take a chance.

Desperate times, ya dig?

Television Writing Intensive At Columbia

William Speruzzi — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 14:40:02 +0000

You might have noticed a Short Ends post on the sidebar a while back announcing the newly offered Television Writing Intensive at Columbia University this summer. Well, I took the plunge and enrolled. It was kind of impulsive but not a decision I will soon regret. It wasn’t part of my original plan of developing a screenplay through a variety of online offerings but I’ve come to realize at this point that most endeavors get diverted and that’s not always a bad thing. Sometimes you just need to go with it.

No one can deny that television has come a long way. The writing is savvier, wittier and more ambitious. In a lot of ways it has surpassed current popular film. Storylines can be expanded. Character depths can be explored over multiple seasons. I never had a desire to write for television but that was before The Sopranos came along. It single handedly leveled the television landscape by utilizing jumpy story throughlines and dark, dark humor to unravel its current interpretation of the American Family (I have to add that Twin Peaks is the modern blueprint for this current wave of television, David Chase admired it greatly.) It was followed by other groundbreaking shows like The Wire, Deadwood and my current on-hiatus favorite, Mad Men. Television is…respectable.

The course is six weeks of two six hour days and one three hour day for guest lecturers. The instructor, Frank Pugliese, is one of the main reasons I took the course. Playwright, screenwriter, director, WGA East member and award winner, he will steer the boat. It’s not an intensive for nothin’. Here’s the course info.

It starts May 23rd and at some point when I come up for air I’ll share.

Television Writing Intensive

William Speruzzi — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 22:43:13 +0000

Columbia University is offering a very challenging writing course over the summer. Are you up for it?

A minimal wordpress theme by Jared Erickson

Bertram Cooper’s Eye

William Speruzzi — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:03:39 +0000

Office art.

Writing For Television

William Speruzzi — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:39:35 +0000

As part of my investigation into writing for the tube I picked up a book that was recommended on Writing The TV Spec Script. I figured a small monetary investment would save me a lot of time in the long run. I just picked up Writing the TV Drama Series. Except for maybe The Office the shows I watch are the only shows that I would considered writing for, cable one hour dramas. From what I can see my instincts are right because there’s a whole chapter on staffing that includes “Mistake 7: Don’t work on a series that’s wrong for you.” There’s a lot more latitude to what you can do on cable and the advertisers aren’t the focus of how you earn your paycheck but hey, everyone has a boss right? Unfortunately most of the shows I have followed with rabid intensity have ended. The Sopranos, Six Feet Under. Mad Men, as I have mentioned in the previous post, is still going full force into its third season and is a shining example of what is possible. Subtle, thematic drama that respects the viewers intelligence and knows they’ll get it. Matthew Weiner and his staff are counting on it. Specing out a show that is currently airing is one way of getting into the TV game. Knowing someone on the inside is the other.

Television has come a long way and it’s not the dirty, little lesser career move that it may have been considered at one time. Right now is a golden age. Now if we can just get rid of the Real Housewives of New Jersey. Ahhh, who am I kidding, I watch, I watch.

Let me add that I say this all with some humility. Absolutely no one is asking me to write for their show the last time I checked.